By Dave Finlay 

ONE of Scotland’s most senior judges has described a human trafficking victim as a “burden on the state” and suggested she should return home to Poland.

The Polish woman was suing a local council for the right to be given a home after she was evicted for failing to pay rent.

But Lord Boyd ruled against her and said her mental health issues brought on by the trafficking would be better treated in Poland.

The judge ruled Aberdeen City Council did not have to give her a home and he considered there were no exceptional circumstances entitling the woman to claim a right of residence in the UK.

He said providing housing would not itself address her mental health issues and her lack of English meant providing mental health services was “problematic”.

He noted a doctor had observed the best course of action would be for her to return home where she would get support from family and friends and be able to speak the language.

In a written judgment issued yesterday, he said: “It is accepted that she is a victim of trafficking. Fortunately that came to an end in December 2014.

“It is accepted that she was, at the time of the council’s decision, and subsequently experiencing mental health difficulties associated with trafficking. However she has no ties to the UK other than the presence of her adult son, who appears not to be exercising residence rights.”

“She is not economically active and to that extent is a burden on the UK. She does not speak English. There is no barrier to her return to Poland where she could access support and services in her own language and there is the potential of support from family and friends.”

The woman, known as GO, came to Aberdeen in 2014 and stayed with a man for two months before revealing to police she had been the victim of physical and sexual abuse by him.

She and her adult son were given help by the council’s social work department and other agencies such as the Cyrenians and in February 2015 she secured a tenancy.

Her son was in work but lost his job shortly afterwards on April 1 and has not worked since. Rent arrears built up and Aberdeen City Council raised an action to regain possession of the property.

They had the right to evict mother and son by December 2015 but put that on hold to await the outcome of a legal action brought at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The council said she was not a job seeker and not a qualified person under European immigration regulations and as such was not entitled to reside in Britain.

But lawyers acting for the woman challenged that decision in a judicial review maintaining she has a right to reside in the country and the European Convention on Human Rights included a right for victims of trafficking to accommodation.

The court heard the woman had been noted to have symptoms which appeared to be the result of human trafficking, including hyper-arousal, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, sleep problems and an inability to use public transport.

But Lord Boyd said a psychiatrist who saw had her said she did not wish to return to her native Poland and did not think she or her son had a meaningful future there.

He added: “In my opinion these are not good enough reasons for her to be accorded a right of residence in this country, particularly when to do so would involve a burden on the state.

“In this case while it is clear the petitioner has mental health problems and that these appear to be related to the effects of trafficking I am satisfied that there is no obligation on the council to provide her with housing.”

“Any obligation that the state may have to the petitioner cannot be open-ended. There is nothing now to prevent her returning to her own country.”